Oklahoma, Texas presidents get OK to choose new conference

The college athletics landscape looks as if it's going to continue to shift, and the future of the Big 12 seems cloudier every day

Two weeks after Oklahoma President David Boren announced that his school probably would start considering its conference options, the school's board of regents voted unanimously Monday to give Boren the authority to choose a new league for the Sooners. Minutes later, it was announced Texas regents had voted to give President Bill Powers Jr. the authority to move the Longhorns out of the Big 12.

Boren said that his focus is on moving Oklahoma to the Pacific 12 or keeping it in the Big 12. The latter, however, would have to include a equal sharing of all television revenue. Big 12 members, particularly Texas A&M, have bristled over the 20-year, $300 million agreement Texas has signed with ESPN to create the Longhorn Network.

Before the Texas vote, Powers told the regents that the school should be able to explore its options, which he says could include staying in the Big 12.

Powers made no mention of any other conference and after the vote said only that the process is "ongoing." He left without further comment, the Associated Press reported.

The actions by the boards are key steps in case the schools choose to leave the Big 12.

Oklahoma State's regents are scheduled to meet Wednesday. Boren said that he has been talking with Oklahoma State officials and expects that the schools will stick together, whatever they decide.

Oklahoma State President Burns Hargis said: "We will be prepared at the appropriate time to take whatever steps are necessary for Oklahoma State."

Texas A&M has already announced that it plans to leave the Big 12 and pursue membership in the Southeastern Conference, although the move is being held up because of the possibility of legal action by Big 12 schools left behind.

Over the weekend, Syracuse and Pittsburgh announced they will soon leave the Big East for the Atlantic Coast Conference, leaving the Big East's future tenuous.

The Oklahoma regents also voted Monday to give football coach Bob Stoops a new contract that would keep him in Norman through 2018 and pay him $34.5 million over the next seven years.

The contract calls for Stoops to make $5.15 million in salary and bonuses over the final three years of the deal.

He was already one of the highest-paid football coaches in the country, making $30 million over the course of a previous seven-year deal OK'd in 2009.

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